INDIANAPOLIS – The final tune-up prior to the start of the regular season, the IUPUI women's basketball team put on a scoring barrage in their exhibition game against Lindenwood-Belleville, topping the Lynx with the final score 86-52.  The game marked the final non-official contest for the Jags entering the 2016-17 season.
 
The Jags were led in the game by First-Team All-Summit League player Danielle Lawrence who had 16 points in just 21 minutes of play.  She didn't play the final quarter.  Sydney Hall had 13 points, three assists and a pair of steal, while Holly Hoopingarner 15 points, five assists and two steals in her Jaguar debut.  Kelsi Byrd went for 10 points and four rebounds, while Mikale Rogers had six points and seven boards.  Caitlyn Tolen added seven points.
 
The Jags kicked off scoring in the first quarter on a jumper by Lawrence at the 8:22 mark, tying the game at 2-2.  Lawrence would follow that with a layup just over a minute later, giving her team a lead.  She'd add a pair of free throws just moments later, account for all the Jags points in the early going, 6-4.  Gunn would hit a layup, Lawrence would strike again on a pair of jumpers, followed by another Gunn bucket to make it 14-4.  At 2:25 left in the quarter, Hoopingarner netted a three-pointer to break a two-minute dry spell, giving the Jags a 17-7 lead.  Down the stretch, Hoopingarner would hit a jumper, a pair of free-throws, and Kelsi Byrd would strike for a triple as IUPUI led at the break, 24-9.
 
Rogers was the first to hit in the second, knocking down a jumper just 56 seconds into the frame to grow the Jags' lead.  Byrd hit a three-pointer, Gunn hit one of two shots from the charity stripe, Lawrence hit a layup, and Hall dropped in two free-throws to make it a 34-23 game.  In the final two minutes of play, Lawrence dropped in a pair of free-throws, followed by Hoopingarner connecting for a layup with 56 seconds left to play, giving the Jags a 38-23 lead.  That score would carry the two teams into the half.
 
In the first half, the Jags shot .467 from the floor, doing most of their damage from outside the paint.  The Jags had only six points in the paint, compared to 14 for Belleville.  Five points came off turnovers for IUPUI, while five came from the bench.
 
Rogers needed 1:05 to get the Jags on the board in the second half, dropping in a jumper to make it a 17-point lead.  A minute later, she'd tally a layup on a great pass from Hoopingarner to grow the lead.  Lawrence and Hoopingarner delivered back-to-back layups, only to be out-done by a four-point play from Allex Brown, converting a three-point shot and a free-throw at the five minute mark.  The Jags would continue to push it, including a three-pointer from Taylor Drake and a breakaway layup on a steal by Hall to make it 61-35.  Hall dropped in one-of-two free throws with under a minute to play, followed by another steal that led to a foul just 15 seconds later.  She'd convert both free-throws on the play.  As time expired, Hall was fouled yet again, delivering two more free throws to send IUPUI to a 66-38 lead at the break.
 
Tolen took just 15 seconds to drop in a three-pointer at the start of the final quarter, igniting the Jags bench and the IUPUI faithful.  About a minute and a half later, the senior guard would strike again, knocking down a shot from inside the key.  After a short dry spell, Drake would get a third-chance at the free-throw line on a lane violation, knocking down a shot to make it 72-43.  Hall checked back into the game after a long break and hit a layup at the 4:35 mark, followed by a single free throw to make it a 30-point edge, 75-45.  Byrd hit one-of-two free throws, Tolen converted a fast-break layup on a pass from Hoopingarner, Holly hit two free-throws, and Brown converted two free-throws to make it 84-52.  With under a minute to play, Drake hit a fast-break layup on an assist from Brown, and the Jags let the clock run out, taking the game 86-52.
 
The Jags will now look to officially begin the season Friday (Nov. 11) at home against Northern Iowa in the first regular season game. 
 
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